Be square with job recruiters

Q I was separated from my last job because I didn’t agree with the direction that new management was taking the company. My former manager isn’t going to nuke me, but I don’t expect lavish praise either — we’re not on the same page. Am I dead in the water with (third-party) recruiters? — C.K.

A You’re not necessarily a floater, but you’ll have to scale a sheer cliff in your sell to an independent recruiter in this buyer’s marketplace. A recruiter’s reputation is on the line with each candidate the recruiter presents. Even when you offer scarce in-demand skills and experience, you’ll have to convince a recruiter that you are blameless in the termination, and so good a candidate that you’ll handsomely return the recruiter’s time investment by presenting you as a candidate.

Here’s how: Stick to the best version of the truth, which typically relates to either of these themes:

•Management renewal. Recruiters know that when a company changes management or supervisors, staffing changes often follow because the new managers want their own teams, or feel threatened by rising stars and find ways to get rid of them. Sometimes new policies or decisions annoy employees to the point of conflict.

Your statement: “When the company was merged, new management took over, and I was cut loose during that transition.” Volunteer nothing further but answer a recruiter’s probing questions without hesitation.

•Bad chemistry. This issue is trickier to handle than management renewal. If personality conflict is the root of your termination, be upfront with a recruiter. Who hasn’t had a bad boss or endured conflict with another person at work? Ever? Present personality conflict as a one-time or rare development to avoid looking like a troublemaker. If conflict is a signature of your career history, avoid recruiters.

Your statement: “My manager and I, unfortunately, were oil and water. I tried hard to establish a positive work relationship. I enjoyed a collegial relationship with the others in my workplace.” Have a list of other supervisors and co-workers with home and workplace contact information ready.

Remember that a recruiter may or will confirm with your former employer your story about why you were fired. If the confirmation reveals you are the problem, the recruiter will say “Thanks, but no thanks” and move on to the next candidate.

But when your former employer is at least neutral, if not enthusiastic about your performance, a recruiter may tell the client something like this: “You left your former employer after a lengthy personality conflict with your supervisor. You tried to resolve the issues and took all the necessary steps, but finally the employment relationship was terminated. The good news is: You are available immediately.”

Q I am going to either switch jobs or change my career. I’m not sure which change I need, but I’ve got to get out of this lunatic asylum. I’m a professional and am supposedly paid well, but not for an 80-hour week of total frustration. What’s your advice? — T.R.

A Are you sure you’re exempt from overtime pay? A flurry of winning lawsuits in recent years has successfully challenged a number of long-held assumptions about who gets overtime and who doesn’t. Research recent developments by searching online for “overtime lawsuits.”

Determining whether your new direction should be to a job switch (easier), or to a career change (harder), is important not only for your life satisfaction but for your prospect of convincing someone to pay you well when you’re ready to make your move.

Remember that employers vastly prefer to hire someone who, on someone else’s dime, has already proved that he or she can do the work a particular job requires.

Email career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at jlk@sunfeatures.com; use “Reader Question” for subject line. Or mail her at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007.

CDL A DELIVERY DRIVERS Home Every Night! Needed for our Worcester Depot! Drive local - No more spending valuable nights away from your family! As a Direct Store Delivery Representative YOU have the opportunity to make a difference with our customers! Provide excellent customer service; interact in a positive manner with our customers; deliver our products to local stores. Be home every night! Work for a Company that has been around for over 80 years! Minimum of 3 months driving experience with CDL A/B; GED or HS diploma required; Must be able to drive a standard transmission. EEO/Veteran/Disability Growing Strong Since1933!